<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>along the dark edges of everything by StarAmongStones</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740513">along the dark edges of everything</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarAmongStones/pseuds/StarAmongStones'>StarAmongStones</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cowboy Bebop (Anime)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Team as Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:48:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,613</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740513</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarAmongStones/pseuds/StarAmongStones</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Faye allowed herself five hours to wallow before she started rounding up the crew again. Well, manipulated Jet into rounding up the crew again. It was basically the same thing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Spike Spiegel/Faye Valentine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Wallow a While</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is going to be maybe 10% getting the band back together and 90% rom-com exploring what happens when deeply traumatized people finally try for something good again. (It's a family. They're all trying to be a family. Spoilers.) </p>
<p>The title is from Mary Oliver's poem "Coming Home" in case it wasn't abundantly clear what you're getting yourself into here.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Faye let herself wallow for about five hours. Five hours to lick her preverbal wounds and pretend like she didn’t even care about this stupid, annoying bunch of people (and one animal). They were all holding her back, anyway. Spike did her a favor by leaving.</p>
<p>Really. </p>
<p>“Damn it,” Faye muttered to herself. She was splayed out on one of the couches in the main room of the Bebop. A week ago she would have had to dodge corgi paws, scrawny flailing limbs, sharp verbal barbs, or a general air of disappointment and judgement about her wasting away the day on her ass just to have the luxury of sinking said ass into the lumpy cushions in peace. Usually it was a combination of all four, or near it. Too much hassle she’d thought at the time. Now, though, the silence was oppressive. She wanted someone to say, “Faye Faye! What’s wrong Faye Faye?” She’d even settle for and annoyed, “What?” Hell, she’d even welcome a disturbingly perceptive bark in response. Instead, nothing. </p>
<p>“Damn it!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “Damn it!” </p>
<p>“What the hell are you on about?” </p>
<p>Jet lumbered into the room, eyebrows drawn together like he couldn’t decide whether he should be annoyed or concerned so he split the difference. </p>
<p>Faye stared back at him for a moment. For some reason, she thought she was alone.  </p>
<p>“Jet!” Faye sat upright. “You’re here.” </p>
<p>“Yeah. It’s my ship. I tend to be on it a lot.” </p>
<p>He’d definitely settled on annoyance. That was fine. Faye was working on some annoyance herself. </p>
<p>“Well, what the hell are you doing here?”</p>
<p>“I,” Jet said slow, “just said.”</p>
<p>“No, I mean-” Faye stood up and started shooing Jet towards the captain’s chair, “-why are you standing here? Why aren’t you getting everybody back on board?” </p>
<p>Jet let himself be shooed, but said, “I’m not following.” </p>
<p>They weaved their way through the frankly enormous halls of the ship that Faye knew like the back of her hand now. Dodge the sharp spike of metal sticking out of the floor. Duck under the exposed wire Spike swore he'd get around to fixing one of these days. Avoid looking at the bullet hole she left a few hours earlier when she tried to stop Spike from going off on his moronic suicide mission. </p>
<p>“Well, Ed needs us," Faye said. "She won’t survive out there on her own for long.”</p>
<p>“She did pretty well for herself without us for quite a while.” </p>
<p>“And Ein,” Faye said, ignoring him. “He needs us for food.” </p>
<p>“We hardly ever fed him. I’m really not sure how he survived this long.” </p>
<p>“Spike definitely needs us. He’s probably off getting his ass kicked right now. He needs someone who’s going to step in when he inevitably gets shot.” </p>
<p>“Mmhmm.” Jet took his seat, but made no moves to turn the ship on. He stared up at her, faintly amused now, and asked, “And you and me? What do we need?” </p>
<p>“Well, obviously you need people to take care of. Look at you. You’re a wreck.” </p>
<p>Jet looked down at himself. There was nothing different. </p>
<p>“As for me, I don’t need anything. You all need me. I guess I’ll stick around. Do my part. Since I’m so nice and all.” </p>
<p>“Right.” Jet started to fire up the Bebop. “Since you’re so nice.” </p>
<p>Damn straight she was nice. Jet hadn’t looked that happy since Ed and Ein had taken their impromptu semi-permenant vacation. She gave him a purpose, something to look forward to. He should really be thanking her, but she’d take the light back in his eyes as thanks enough. </p>
<p>“Now,” she said, strapping in next to Jet as the Bebop rose into the sky once more, “whose ass are we saving first?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. when we are weary</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You know that 10% I promised would be devoted to rounding up the team? This is that 10%.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">They didn’t actually have to decide who to pick up first. A signal was forced through their comms system announcing a high bounty on an extremely dangerous hacker believed to be stationed on Earth. Two hundred Woolongs for his capture, dead or alive. Plus soup.</p><p class="p1">Well, that didn’t take long. Three weeks and the kid was already missing them.</p><p class="p1">“Do you think she patched that through to everyone in the solar system, or are we special?” Jet asked. He punched a few numbers into the nav system, then turned the ship sharply right.</p><p class="p1">Faye propped her feet up on the dash in front of her and settled in for the trip.</p><p class="p1">“Get your feet off my ship, Faye.”</p><p class="p1">Faye did not move. Jet grumbled on and off pretty much until they arrived on Earth.</p><p class="p1">“I always forget what a dump this place is,” Faye said once they’d landed. She glanced around at the barren land before her, dotted only with piles of trash and pockmarks from various attempts on the planet’s life. It was no wonder Ed wanted out again.</p><p class="p1">Once the Bebop was completely powered down, Jet asked, “Where should we start? You were with Ed the last time you were here. Where did you two go? Anywhere you think she might return to?”</p><p class="p1">Faye shrugged. She stretched lazily, then stood. “We went a few places.”</p><p class="p1">“Okay. Would you care to share?”</p><p class="p1">“An old boarding school. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”</p><p class="p1">“It doesn’t- Faye!”</p><p class="p1">Faye made her way out of the cockpit with the intention of taking a nap in her room. Hopefully Ed would be back on board and they’d be on their way to Mars by the time she woke back up. Earth was just depressing to look at. She’d rather not do it more than necessary.</p><p class="p1">“Where are you going?” Jet asked. He was practically stepping on her heels, so she stopped just to fuck with him. He caught himself just before he trampled her. His shirt brushed the back of her arm as he pulled himself back, away from her.</p><p class="p1">Faye turned around, one eyebrow raised. “I’m going to bed. Do you have a problem with that?”</p><p class="p1">“Yes. As a matter of fact, I do.”</p><p class="p1">Faye put her hands on her hips and waited for him to continue. He always took so long to get to the point.</p><p class="p1">“We’re here to find Ed,” Jet finally explained. “So let’s go find Ed.”</p><p class="p1">“Honestly, it’ll probably be faster and easier for all of us to let her find us.”</p><p class="p1">“But what if-”</p><p class="p1">“Oh Jet!” Ed’s voice echoed loudly through the ship, cutting Jet off mid-sentence. “Faye Faye! Spike!”</p><p class="p1">Faye raised a finger towards the ceiling. She also couldn’t resist adding, “Told you so.”</p><p class="p1">Ein barked twice.</p><p class="p1">“Ed! Ein.” Jet sounded so relieved it almost made Faye feel uncomfortable. It was one thing to know on a conceptual level that Jet was a miserable old bastard without the rest of his crew, but it was a whole other thing to see it in action. None of them - well, except for Ed - really did delighted. At least, not when it came to another person. If she were to examine her own feelings a little closer, she’d find that she was uncomfortable because she could see how close they all already were and she’d find she felt the same sense of delight coloring Jet’s voice. But she didn’t examine her own feelings. She did what she did best: slipped away quietly. As Jet went looking for Ed and Ein, she loped off for a nap in her cot and made a mental note to say hi to everyone later, when emotions weren’t running so high.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">When Faye blinked open her eyes some undetermined time later, Ed’s face was so close to hers their noses were brushing.</p><p class="p1">Faye yelped and pushed herself away. Her back collided painfully with the metal wall her cot was positioned against.</p><p class="p1">Ed, curled up on her side facing Faye, grinned so wide it practically forced her eyes shut. Ein blinked up at her from the foot of the bed.</p><p class="p1">“Faye Faye Faye!” Ed cried. “Jet says, and I quote, ‘We are on Mars and Faye needs to get her lazy ass up.’” Her girlish voice went nowhere near the deep gravel of Jet’s, but she made a valiant effort.</p><p class="p1">Faye rubbed the parts of her back she could reach and winced. “Great. Thanks for letting me know, Ed.”</p><p class="p1">Ed rolled off the cot, then continued rolling right out the door. Ein watched this happen, then tried rolling as well. He felt on his face, tiny legs splayed out beside him in a pathetic display. He scrambled up, gave Faye a dirty look that she read as, “Tell no one of what you saw,” and trotted off normally after Ed.</p><p class="p1">It really didn’t make sense. Even after all <em>that</em>, she still didn’t regret rounding them up. This ship - these people - had made her so soft. She was going to have to steal something from someone soon, or maybe shoot someone. She needed to make sure her edges stayed sharp.</p><p class="p1">She hauled herself out of bed and made her way out into the main meeting room. Ed was on the floor, hooked in to her computer as usual. Jet was sitting on the corner of one of the couches, as close as he could get to Ed without joining her on the floor. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees like he was trying to see over Ed’s shoulder. When Faye made her way around to sprawl out on the unused couch, she couldn’t make out anything on Ed’s screen. She had no idea what Jet was fooling himself into seeing.</p><p class="p1">“Nice of you to join us,” Jet told her.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah yeah.” She waved a lazy hand in the air. “Just tell me where we’re going.”</p><p class="p1">“Ed’s looking it up right now.”</p><p class="p1">“Looking what up?”</p><p class="p1">“Hospitals!” Ed chirped. She swayed to the left slightly, then jumped and said, “Whoa.”</p><p class="p1">“What? Did you find something?” Jet asked.</p><p class="p1">Ed’s silence in response told them that, no, she hadn’t found anything.</p><p class="p1">“Hospitals?” Faye asked. It was mostly something to fill the silence while they waited. They were looking for Spike; of course they should start with hospitals. That man sure had a knack for getting hurt, especially when he went off on his own.</p><p class="p1">“I figured it would be less morbid than morgues,” Jet said.</p><p class="p1">Yeah. He was probably right about that. Suddenly, Faye didn’t feel like chatting anymore.</p><p class="p1">Ed’s sing-song voice drifted over them after a few minutes. “Someone owes a lot.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh my god. You had her wake me up for nothing.”</p><p class="p1">“Well, how was I supposed to know it would take this long?”</p><p class="p1">Faye glared at him. He had a point, but she was still annoyed.</p><p class="p1">“Ah!” Ed flopped on her back and clapped with her feet. “Found him!”</p><p class="p1">“Where?” Faye asked at the same time Jet said, “That’s great!”</p><p class="p1">“Looks like he’s at Ibaraki Medical Center.”</p><p class="p1">“That’s great. Great work, Ed. Can you get me there?”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah!” </p><p class="p1">Faye and Jet both stood. He looked over at her, surprised.</p><p class="p1">“You’re coming, too?”</p><p class="p1">His surprise made sense. She didn’t like doing anything she didn’t have to do, and really didn’t even like doing a lot of the things she <em>did </em>have to do. Plus, they probably didn’t need two of them to go retrieve one man who had probably been in a hospital long enough to heal whatever went wrong when they last left him. It’s not like they were going to have to carry him back to the ship. Yet, apparently they were both going. </p><p class="p1">Faye shrugged and said, “Of course. I have a thing or two to say to him.” Mostly that he was the stupidest man alive and if he ever pulled a stunt like what he just pulled again she was going to personally make sure he ended up in one of those morgues after all. Also he owed her at least 500,000 Woolongs for organizing this rescue mission for his sorry ass.</p><p class="p1">Clearly following her meaning, Jet smirked and said, “Yeah? I might have a thing or two, too.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">They found the hospital with relative ease. Finding his room was a tad more difficult.</p><p class="p1">They were stopped at the door. Apparently it was a “nice” hospital.</p><p class="p1">“We’re nice,” Faye said. She shot the security guard what she hoped was a convincing smile, but Jet’s grimace told her she’d missed the mark by quite a lot. Sue her.</p><p class="p1">“We mean no harm if that’s what you’re worried about,” Jet said. He took a small step in front of Faye so he was between her and the security guard barring the front entrance to the hospital. It was a swanky place for the area it was in. All the glass looked pristine. The metal gleamed in what little sunlight made its way through the ever-present cloud of smog above. The doctors and nurses she could see walking about inside looked perfectly put together. Honestly, how was Spike affording this place?</p><p class="p1">“I’m not worried about anything,” the security guard said, looking down his nose at them. It was truly a feat since Jet was at least half a foot taller than the man.</p><p class="p1">“So then let us in,” Faye said. She was quickly losing patience with the man. If there was no reason to stop them, why had he stopped them?</p><p class="p1">“I can’t do that.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh my god.” Faye rolled her eyes.</p><p class="p1">“It’s just that,” the guard said, “we have a certain reputation to uphold.” He emphasized the word “reputation” like they were supposed to get what he meant. “We are a religious hospital.”</p><p class="p1">When the guard gave Faye a disdainful once-over, she realized what he meant.</p><p class="p1">“Oh.” Faye looked down at herself. “You want me to cover up my tits?”</p><p class="p1">The guard pursed his lips like he’d just eaten a lemon and nodded.</p><p class="p1">“Huh.”</p><p class="p1">Her fist flew at the guard’s face so fast neither he nor Jet reacted immediately.</p><p class="p1">“Hey!” the guard yelped. Before he could reach for his stun gun, Faye leapt around Jet and behind the guard, hooked her arm around his neck, and squeezed until he went limp in her arms.</p><p class="p1">“Faye, what the hell?” Jet asked as he watched her lean his body against the wall to the right of the front entrance.</p><p class="p1">“Now he doesn’t have to look at my disgusting womanly features.” Faye shrugged and opened the door for a very exasperated Jet to walk through.</p><p class="p1">Their second obstacle came when they got to Spike’s floor. His room was supposedly 6309, but the 6<span class="s1"><sup>th</sup></span> floor had, well, not Room 6309.</p><p class="p1">The elevator let Jet and Faye off in a small foyer that branched off in three different directions. Each hallway curved sharply to the right immediately so they couldn’t see where any of them led. There were also no signs that they could see.</p><p class="p1">“Well,” Jet said, “should we just start walking?”</p><p class="p1">Faye glanced at all three, then randomly pointed to the entrance on their left. “That way.”</p><p class="p1">“It’s as good as any.”</p><p class="p1">He motioned for her to lead the way and off they went.</p><p class="p1">Ten minutes later, Faye asked, “What is wrong with this place?” It was mostly to herself because Jet couldn’t possibly know why they’d looped around past Room 406 for the third time since they’d started.</p><p class="p1">“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”</p><p class="p1">“We’re going to die here, aren’t we?”</p><p class="p1">“No.”</p><p class="p1">He didn’t sound sure enough of that statement for Faye’s liking.</p><p class="p1">Finally, after yet another few minutes which somehow ended up taking them in another loop past 406, they passed a harried nurse.</p><p class="p1">“Excuse me, miss,” Jet said.</p><p class="p1">She looked like she wanted to ignore them, but Jet blocked her way pretty effectively. She stopped, let out a huff, and said, “Can I help you?”</p><p class="p1">“We’re looking for Room 6309 but we seem to have gotten turned around. Can you point us in the right direction?”</p><p class="p1">“6309?” the nurse asked. “You’re in the wrong place.”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah,” Faye said. “We got that.”</p><p class="p1">Jet shot her a look that told her to shut up.</p><p class="p1">The nurse ignored Faye and said, “You need floor 87. The hallway on your right. Follow the left side.”</p><p class="p1">“Thank you very much miss.”</p><p class="p1">The nurse started to duck past him, but he stopped her again.</p><p class="p1">“Sorry to trouble you,” he said, “but could you point us towards the elevator as well?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Once back on the elevator, Faye said, “I think it’s all a conspiracy.”</p><p class="p1">“What’s that?”</p><p class="p1">“If they keep people here long enough, eventually they’ll need medical care.”</p><p class="p1">Jet laughed. “You think they built mazes so people would never leave?”</p><p class="p1">“I think it might be the least weird thing we’ve ever stumbled upon.”</p><p class="p1">“You might be right there.”</p><p class="p1">They rode the rest of the way up to the 87<span class="s1"><sup>th</sup></span> floor in silence. The nurse’s instructions, though bizarre and fairly vague, were actually very helpful. Before Faye knew it, they were standing just outside Room 6309. Spike - if Ed was telling the truth - would be just behind that door.</p><p class="p1">Suddenly, Faye didn’t want to do it anymore. She didn’t want to be there. She wanted to run off somewhere, anywhere, else. She opened her mouth to tell Jet to go on ahead and she’d be in in a minute when Jet said, “You’re not backing out on me now, are ya Valentine?”</p><p class="p1">The words dried up in her throat and left her gaping at a smirking Jet.</p><p class="p1">“That’s what I thought.” He opened the door and nodded for Faye to go in. “Ladies first.”</p><p class="p1">Well, she couldn’t say no now. He’d caught her in the act of chickening out and was calling her bluff. She had no choice but to double down and pretend like she’d never had second thoughts in the first place.</p><p class="p1">She silently slipped into a spacious, blindingly white hospital room. A narrow bed was set up in the middle of the wall opposite the door. Machines on either side of him were silently keeping track of various vital signs Faye couldn’t discern. To her left, a giant window took up most of the wall and looked out over the city. The room was so high up she could even see the water just beyond the wharf to the south.</p><p class="p1">“Whoa,” Faye said, voice just above a whisper. “Get a load of this view.”</p><p class="p1">Jet whistled.</p><p class="p1">They both stood in front of the window, looking out over the grimy city below, for a few silent moments. Faye didn’t think about anything in those moments. She kept her mind carefully blank. Then, in some unspoken agreement, they both turned to look at Spike.</p><p class="p1">He looked thin - thinner than normal, which was quite a feat - and pale. His shaggy hair was shaggier than normal and looked matted in the back where he was laying on it. In the front, it drooped over his forehead limply.</p><p class="p1">A thin white blanket was draped over his legs and about half his stomach, leaving the upper half of his torso exposed. Among various old scars, bits of gauze dotted the expanse of his chest and shoulders. A couple were placed just under the left side of his ribs. His breathing was shallow and quick, but his face was relaxed. Maybe he wasn’t in too much pain.</p><p class="p1">“Should we wake him?” Faye asked. She scanned the room for chairs. Maybe they should just wait for him to wake on his own.</p><p class="p1">“No.”</p><p class="p1">It took Faye a moment to realize the comment hadn’t come from Jet like she’d expected.</p><p class="p1">Spike popped one eye open, looked up at Jet and Faye, and whispered, “He’s sleeping.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re an idiot,” Jet said. He whacked Spike’s shoulder with his fake hand. It looked careless, but Faye saw him deliberately smack a patch of skin without any bandages. That old softie.</p><p class="p1">“Ow,” Spike muttered. He flinched away from Jet, then finally blinked both eyes open. “That hurt.”</p><p class="p1">“Good.”</p><p class="p1">“You gonna get a shot in, too?” Spike asked, eyes landing on Faye.</p><p class="p1">She blinked down at him, caught off guard for a brief moment. Now that she could she he was fine, she realized just how much she’d been doubting she’d ever see him again, much less chatting and joking so blithely. Suddenly, she was furious.</p><p class="p1">She smacked his arm. Unlike Jet, she aimed for one of the strips of gauze on his bicep.</p><p class="p1">“Jesus!” Spike yelped.</p><p class="p1">“Don’t you <em>ever</em> do anything like that again, dumbass.”</p><p class="p1">She watched as Spike grimaced through the worst of the pain - which was mild at best; she definitely could have hit him harder - then relaxed back against the pillows, as starkly, pristinely white as everything else in the room.</p><p class="p1">He never did promise her anything.</p><p class="p1">“How ya feelin’?” Jet asked, breaking the silence that had descended over the room.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, you know. Like I’ve been shot.”</p><p class="p1">“Good,” Jet and Faye both said.</p><p class="p1">Spike grinned up at them. “I knew you cared.” </p><p class="p1">The door opened to Faye’s right and a nurse backed in, tugging a cart full of food in front of her. In a light, sing-song voice, she said, “Good afternoon, Mr. Kazan! You’re going to lo-” her voice cut out when she turned around and came face to face with Jet and Faye. She blinked at them.</p><p class="p1">“Ma’am.” Jet nodded.</p><p class="p1">“Oh,” the nurse said. “I wasn’t aware Mr. Kazan had guests. I’m sorry. I can come back later.”</p><p class="p1">“Can you leave lunch before you go?” Spike asked. He was clearly playing up the charm and, judging by the way the nurse visibly melted in front of them, it was definitely working. Faye rolled her eyes.</p><p class="p1">“Of course.” The nurse winked at him as she placed a covered plate on the tray at the end of his bed. “I think you’re going to like this one.”</p><p class="p1">“I’m sure I will.”</p><p class="p1">The nurse beamed at him, bowed at Jet and Faye, and backed out of the room as quickly as she came in.</p><p class="p1">Faye and Jet turned in unison to stare down at Spike.</p><p class="p1">“Mr. Kazan?” Jet asked, voice dripping with incredulity.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, we should probably go.”</p><p class="p1">“Whoa there. Can you even walk?” Jet asked.</p><p class="p1">Spike threw his blanket back revealing - what else - white pajama bottoms and slid his legs off the bed with a pained grunt.</p><p class="p1">“Guess we’re gonna find out,” he said.</p><p class="p1">Faye took a step back as Spike pitched himself out of bed, up on his feet. He swayed, caught himself, then slowly started bending forward. His eyes went wide as his face inched closer and closer to hers, powerless to stop his slow descent. On instinct, she reached out to stop him from crashing fully into her. Her hands landed on his ribs. Ribs she couldn’t feel because of the giant strip of gauze wrapped multiple times around his torso.</p><p class="p1">“Ow,” Spike grunted.</p><p class="p1">“Okay,” Jet said. He stepped in and under Spike’s right arm, forcing Spike’s arm up over his shoulder, and wrapped his left arm around Spike’s back. When Jet’s hand settled just below the gauze on Spike’s side, Faye pulled her hands back and took two giant steps back.</p><p class="p1">“You’re a walking disaster,” Jet told Spike. “You know that?”</p><p class="p1">“As long as I’m walking.”</p><p class="p1">“Who is Mr. Kazan, anyway?”</p><p class="p1">“No idea, but I probably shouldn’t be here to find out.”</p><p class="p1">Well, that explained how he got such a nice room.</p><p class="p1">Faye swiped his mystery lunch and followed the Jet-Spike hybrid out of probably the cleanest room she would ever see in her lifetime. After three steps, she almost ran straight into Jet’s back.</p><p class="p1">“Hey!” she snapped.</p><p class="p1">“Nope,” Jet said. He turned quickly and nodded behind Faye. “Go that way.”</p><p class="p1">She saw a flash of the security guard from downstairs over Jet’s shoulder. He was still far off, but close enough for her to recognize which meant he was too close for comfort.</p><p class="p1">“On it,” she said. She spun on her heel and set a brisk pace into the depths of the hospital, just slow enough that they wouldn’t attract attention. She followed the curve of the hallway, passing white walls broken up by wooden doors that only led to other rooms, not stairs or elevators. Maybe they’d pass the nurse in love with Spike again and she’d smuggle them out on her food cart.</p><p class="p1">“Do you,” Spike asked, panting, “know where you’re going?”</p><p class="p1">“Do you?” Faye asked.</p><p class="p1">“I’m not leading, am I?”</p><p class="p1">Faye was about to ask him if he wanted to when Jet said, “There!”</p><p class="p1">Oh thank god. She picked up the pace the last few yards and pressed the down button, then pressed it again, then continued pressing it. She wasn’t scared of the little security guard bastard per se, she just really didn’t want to fight her way out of that hell-maze of a hospital, on such a high floor, with a wounded Spike (who wasn’t even <em>Spike</em> here). It was one hassle after another. If they could slip out without any other issue, she wouldn’t be mad about it.</p><p class="p1">Just as the elevator dinged to announce its presence, she heard a man shout, “Hey!”</p><p class="p1">“Shit,” she muttered.</p><p class="p1">Of course it wasn’t going to be an easy out.</p><p class="p1">She turned around to face bastard security man and whatever team he’d brought along to arrest her, but only found him. She blinked and waited for more people to show up behind him, but nope. It was just him. Coming at them by himself.</p><p class="p1">The elevator doors slid open noisily behind her. Jet shooed her inside and dragged Spike along with him. Before the doors shut, the security guard slapped a hand on one of the doors, forcing it back open, and slipped inside with them before the doors closed again.</p><p class="p1">They stared at each other. The security guard, with his back to the doors, glared at Jet, Faye, and Spike lining the back of the elevator. After a moment of tense silence, Jet slowly extended his free hand out to press the button for the first floor.</p><p class="p1">The security guard slapped a pair of handcuffs on the outstretched wrist, lightning fast.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, come on,” Jet said. “We’re really going to do this?”</p><p class="p1">“Turn around,” the security guard said.</p><p class="p1">“You’re not even a real cop,” Faye told him. She was torn between admiring his gall - alone against three people, one of whom had already knocked him out cold - and being annoyed that he was still trying to do anything to them.</p><p class="p1">“Turn around,” the security guard repeated. To Faye, he said, “You’re next.”</p><p class="p1">Jet looked over at Faye with an eyebrow raised that Faye read as, “You want the honors?”</p><p class="p1">“You should have just let it be, man,” Faye said. She dropped Spike’s - her, let’s be real - lunch and feinted left. When the guard dropped his hold on the handcuffs around Jet’s wrist, she ducked and leapt across the elevator to the opposite corner she’d been standing in. She used the wall to jump off, caught her elbow around the guard’s neck as she sprung at him, and squeezed as she wedged herself between his back and the doors. She sighed and stared up at the ceiling as he ineffectually clawed at her forearm, tried kicking back at her, tried shaking her off.</p><p class="p1">“Please just faint already,” she muttered.</p><p class="p1">The guard gave a gurgled response, but it was faint. She could feel his movements getting weaker, too. Jesus, this man had a set of lungs on him.</p><p class="p1">Finally, after what felt like forever, he collapsed back against her. Jet tugged them both across the floor towards him and Spike as the elevator dinged above them and the doors spread seconds later.</p><p class="p1">Not exactly ideal to have a passed out man in an elevator while they were carrying another shirtless, obviously-infirmed man, but it could have been worse.</p><p class="p1">Faye leaned the security guard against the wall and shouted, “Hey! Somebody help! This man just fainted!”</p><p class="p1">Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jet and Spike - who was now walking on his own, slipped out of the elevator, unnoticed in the mayhem of the nearest doctors and nurses running in to answer Faye’s cries for help. She stood up and pointed down at him, letting her place by his side be taken by two nurses.</p><p class="p1">“I don’t know what happened,” she babbled. “He just collapsed!”</p><p class="p1">She tried to force some tears, but came up dry. Oh well. She’d get them next time.</p><p class="p1">A doctor with a kind face nodded at her and said, “It’s alright, ma’m. We’ll take it from here.”</p><p class="p1"><em>Ma’am</em>? She was not a ma’am.</p><p class="p1">“Do you know this man?” The doctor asked as she started to back away.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, no,” she said. “Sorry.”</p><p class="p1">He clearly wanted to ask her more questions, but by then she had backed away so far she was almost half-way through the lobby. She shrugged, said, “Good luck,” and strolled out of the hospital to the sound of chaos she created. She had to admit, it was one of her favorite ways to leave a place.</p><p class="p1">She strolled down the concrete steps and met Jet and Spike at the bottom. They were tucked a little off to the side, just out of plain view of the front door.</p><p class="p1">“Well, that was fun,” Faye said.</p><p class="p1">Jet snorted. “Sure.”</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">Faye swiped Spike a t-shirt from a side vendor on their way back to the Bebop. She threw it at his face, though he caught it before it could reach its target. His reflexes, like his legs, were back in working order. Clearly the worst of whatever had happened between him leaving and them finding him had passed.  </p><p class="p1">Faye said, "Cover up. You're going to get us caught."</p><p class="p1">"Who's looking for us?" Spike asked. He dutifully put the shirt on, though. </p><p class="p1">He looked ridiculous. The shirt was about three sizes too big and had giant, garish hibiscuses all over. </p><p class="p1">"Nice look," Jet said. </p><p class="p1">"You think?" Spike grinned over at him. </p><p class="p1">They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence. It started to drizzle about a block away from the ship, switching to a heavy downpour as they ducked inside.</p><p class="p1">"Spike!" Ed cried. She flung herself at Spike, stopped at the very last second, stared up at him with her impossibly large eyes, and gently poked the tip of his nose. </p><p class="p1">He twitched his nose in response and smiled down at her. "Hey, Ed. Nice to see you again." </p><p class="p1">Ein barked from across the room. </p><p class="p1">"Yeah, yeah. You, too." </p><p class="p1">Faye sighed. Home again. With everyone where they should be. </p><p class="p1">Well, shit. What should they do now? </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. once more</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">The five of them stood in an informal semi-circle, staring at each other, not quite sure what to do next.</p><p class="p1">“Well,” Faye said, breaking the silence, “this has been fun. Wake me up when something interesting happens. Or for food.”</p><p class="p1">She started to weave her way between Jet and Spike on her way back to her bedroom. Going back to bed sounded pretty sublime right about now. She made it three steps before Jet caught her just under her armpit.</p><p class="p1">“Not so fast,” Jet said, low in her ear.</p><p class="p1">Spike grabbed her other bicep, which just made her roll her eyes. Sure, <em>now</em> she was stuck. Good move, Spike.</p><p class="p1">Ed jumped on her back and wrapped her scrawny arms around Faye’s collar bone.</p><p class="p1">“Hey!” Faye snapped, trying to shake Ed off. The best she could do with her arms incapacitated was to awkwardly wriggle her torso. All that did was make Ed giggle into her ear. “Get off me!”</p><p class="p1">Something sharp dug into her left calf, causing her to pause. She looked down to find Ein propped up against her leg, staring up at her with an icy stare. She swore she could feel his little claws dig in just a bit further while she held eye contact.</p><p class="p1">“Fine,” Faye muttered. “I won’t mess with your human, you little brat.”</p><p class="p1">Ein hopped off her leg but stayed close.</p><p class="p1">Ed did not hop off her back, and Jet and Spike did not let go of her arms, so she went boneless in defeat. If they were going to hold her up from going back to bed, they were going to have to physically hold her up.</p><p class="p1">“Soft,” Ed muttered. She was almost drowned out by Jet’s, “Christ,” and Spike’s, “You’re so dramatic.”</p><p class="p1">“What now?” Faye asked, eyes cast upwards.</p><p class="p1">“We should be asking you that,” Jet said.</p><p class="p1">Faye looked at him. “What?”</p><p class="p1">“Well, you brought us all here. What’s next?”</p><p class="p1">“<em>I</em> brought us?”</p><p class="p1">Jet nodded, looking annoyingly unbothered by her righteous indignation.</p><p class="p1">“I didn’t do anything,” Faye said, finally standing on her own again. She needed both feet to argue her positions. Which was, of course, that she had nothing to do with anything and if she did, it didn’t mean anything.</p><p class="p1">They’re saved from going even further in conversational circles by the TV. All four humans turned towards the sound of the tv in the communal seating area. Ein stood next to it, face turned up towards the screen like he was watching it too. Faye briefly wondered where that dog actually came from, but got distracted by the program Ein turned on.</p><p class="p1">They’d missed the start of Big Shot by the looks of it, but not by much.</p><p class="p1">“Hey, didn’t this get canceled?” Faye asked.</p><p class="p1">On screen, Judy said, “And now we’re temps. Isn’t that right, Punch?”</p><p class="p1">“That’s right, Judy! We get contracted in when a big bounty hits to inform all you fine bounty hunters out there of new opportunities.”</p><p class="p1">“I just might become a bounty hunter myself,” Judy said, a smile frozen unnaturally on her lips. “Now that our steady work is gone.” She forced a laugh.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, Judy,” Jet muttered.</p><p class="p1">The four made their way over to the couch and settled in for the broadcast. Faye sat between Jet and Spike. Ed finally let go of Faye and joined Ein on the floor at Jet’s feet.</p><p class="p1">“Well, Judy,” Punch said, “You’d make quite a bit off this pair.” A picture of a man and a woman took up the screen. The man had blond hair, blue eyes, and was missing a small chunk of his left eyebrow. He was about an inch shorter than his companion, a rail-thin woman with long red hair and grey eyes. She had an angry red scar down her right cheek, almost flush with her ear. With markings like those, they should be easy enough to find.</p><p class="p1">“These two are worth 20 million woolongs,” Punch said. “Each.”</p><p class="p1">“Each?” Jet, Faye, and Spike shouted.</p><p class="p1">“So there you have it, folks. Happy hunting!” Judy said. “And I’ll see you out there.”</p><p class="p1">“Wait, you’re serious?” Punch asked just before the transmission cut off.</p><p class="p1">“Well, that was weird,” Faye said.</p><p class="p1">“Ed,” Jet said. “Wanna give us a hand with that?”</p><p class="p1">“Already on it!” Ed said, even thought she wasn’t. She rolled over to her computer and started doing whatever it was she did with it.</p><p class="p1">Spike sighed and leaned his head back against the back of the couch. “Once more unto the breech, I suppose.”</p><p class="p1">“Wake me when you have something, will you?” Faye asked, heaving herself up to her feet. She’d been trying to get away for what felt like forever at this point. She was half expecting hands to grab her and make her stay. Instead, she heard Jet say, “You are the laziest woman I’ve ever met, you know that?”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah yeah.” She waved a hand behind her. “I’ll do work when there’s work to be done.” If she couldn’t wiggle her way out of it, that was. Jet didn’t need to know that, though, so she left it at that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm sure you all know, but the whole Shakespeare quote Spike says is, "Once more unto the breech, dear friends, once more." He verbally leaves off the "friends" part because they're all still a little broken, but they're getting there. It's the thought that counts. ~Friendship.~</p><p>Also I know this chapter is short but this has been sitting dormant a long time and I wanted to get something up. I do not plan to let this stay unfinished, but it's slow going because we're in a pandemic and life is just mildly shitty right now so motivation is a little hard to come by. Please believe me when I say I do fully plan to finish this and the updates from here on out should be longer.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. i went closer and i did not die</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Oddly enough, nothing came of it. No one ever came to get Faye, and everyone was still on the ship a few hours later when she wandered out to calmly ask if food was available. (She did not whine as Jet so rudely accused.) They all went hungry that night, but they managed to pick up a job the next day from one of Jet’s old contacts. Jet and Spike took that job, wrapping it up in time for dinner, and then they were off.</p>
<p class="p1">One job bled into the next until two months had passed. Everyone did a commendable job of not addressing anything that was happing with two exceptions. The first came a few weeks after they’d regrouped. Faye was riding shotgun in the Swordfish II, trying to nap while they zipped to <em>somewhere</em> on Pluto, when Spike said, “I know what you’re doing.”</p>
<p class="p1">“What’s that?” Faye asked without opening her eyes.</p>
<p class="p1">“Not letting me go on jobs alone.”</p>
<p class="p1">Faye slit one eye open. Spike wasn’t looking at her. He continued to stare straight ahead, face neutral, giving nothing away. She had no idea what he was thinking, so she didn’t know how to approach it. He was right: by some unspoken agreement, Faye and Jet hadn’t let Spike go on any jobs alone. They’d barely let him go anywhere alone. She thought they’d been pretty subtle about it. But if anyone was going to catch on to their nebulous plan, of course it was Spike.</p>
<p class="p1">She eyed him out of the corner of her eye for a few seconds, weighing her options, before she settled on brutal honesty.</p>
<p class="p1">“When we can trust you not to go out on suicide missions alone again, we’ll let you go out on regular missions alone.”</p>
<p class="p1">“You’d rather come on the suicide missions with me?” Spike asked, voice light and vaguely teasing.</p>
<p class="p1">She jabbed him quickly in rib with her fingertips. It had been long enough that he’d mostly healed, but he must have still been a little sore because she felt him freeze, then heard him let out a slow, almost inaudible exhale. He was good at hiding physical pain, but she knew his tells by now. “Well, you might have fully functioning ribs right now if you’d let us come.”</p>
<p class="p1">She folded her arms over her chest, closed her eyes again, and settled into the resumed silence between them. After that, they only talked about the bounty. Faye took that as Spike’s tacit compliance with their plan.</p>
<p class="p1">The second time Faye and Spike came close to talking about anything remotely deeper than where their next paycheck was going to come from came in the middle of the night about a month and a half after they’d snuck Spike out of the hospital. She’d accidentally stumbled upon him out on deck after a particularly strange dream. She’d been in the backseat of Julia’s car, panicked because she knew with the certainty that only came in dreams that Julia was going to drive them off a cliff. As they sped closer and closer to a heart-stopping drop-off, Julia smiled. Faye couldn’t make a sound or move to stop Julia. She woke just before they went over the edge and decided to get up for the day no matter the time. She needed to shake off her residual panic. More importantly, she was mildly afraid her brain would pick up where it left off the second her eyes closed again.</p>
<p class="p1">It was completely coincidental that Spike was also up at 0130, as a clock she’d passed on the way outside had informed her. He stood against the railing at the edge of the ship deck, dimly illuminated in the unfamiliar moonlight over the vast, empty desert they’d stopped in for the night. She debated whether or not she should turn around and go back inside. Maybe turn on the tv and hope for anything better than infomercials and religious zealots. </p>
<p class="p1">Her choice was made for her when Spike asked, “Couldn’t sleep either?”</p>
<p class="p1">His voice was almost too loud in the silent, windless night. Her voice was also unnaturally loud to her own ears when she answered, “Julia didn’t make it, did she?”</p>
<p class="p1">The silence stretched between them for so long Faye thought he might be ignoring her. Finally, he drew a cigarette out of the pack in his breast pocket, lit it, took a drag, and said, “No,” on the exhale. His voice wasn’t too loud for the air anymore.</p>
<p class="p1">He didn’t snap at her or walk away, so she took a few tentative steps towards him, and then a few more until she joined him at the railing. Drawing her own cigarette, he held his lighter out for her and slid the cup he was using as an ash tray to sit between them.</p>
<p class="p1">They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Faye wasn’t thinking about anything in particular. Random snippets of <em>too quiet</em> and <em>dry heat </em>and <em>nicotine</em>.</p>
<p class="p1">“You’re not going to ask me if I want to talk about it?” Spike asked.</p>
<p class="p1">Faye shrugged. “I already know you don’t. Plus, that’s what Jet is for.”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike snorted and nodded as if to concede the point.</p>
<p class="p1">Faye shook some ash off the end of her cigarette and said, “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth. I know I didn’t really know her, but she seemed cool.”</p>
<p class="p1">There was another long pause before Spike said, “She was.”</p>
<p class="p1">“You could, you know,” Faye said before she could stop herself. “If you wanted to.”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike shot her a questioning look.</p>
<p class="p1">“I know we don’t do that sort of thing, but if you ever wanted to, and Jet was busy, you could tell me about her. Or anything else.” She’d once told him not to tell her anything about himself. She’d pushed him away more times than she could count, tried to keep him an arm’s length away, but she couldn’t seem to stop failing. Now that she could remember having friends, she knew without a doubt that that’s what this was. She was <em>friends</em> with Spike. Worse yet, she wanted to be. So she took that first, terrifying, embarrassing step towards deepening their friendship. And then she immediately tried to downplay it by tacking on, “Or whatever.”</p>
<p class="p1">“I’ll keep that in mind,” Spike said softly. He dropped his spent cigarette in the cup and pushed away from the railing. About halfway across the deck, Spike asked, “Was there something you wanted to talk about?”</p>
<p class="p1">She couldn’t tell if <em>yes, I dreamt about Julia so we’ve already covered what I wanted to say </em>would be weird, so she shook her head no.</p>
<p class="p1">“Okay, well,” he said. “Goodnight then.”</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">A few weeks later, Faye wandered into the main common area around dinner time, intending to ask what Jet had on the menu for that night. They’d been working constantly, so they had enough money to pool for some decent food. At least food that was a step up from instant ramen. She found herself almost looking forward to meals now.</p>
<p class="p1">Spike and Jet were sitting together on one couch, heads bent over a computer screen. No rest for the wicked, she supposed. Ed was on the floor across the room doing what looked like sit-ups. Ein had is front two paws on her shoulders and raised up to a standing position whenever she sat up, then followed her down to the ground when she laid back down.</p>
<p class="p1">“Just who we needed,” Jet said. He looked up from the screen as she took the opposite couch from them, legs folded under her.</p>
<p class="p1">“Got a gig lined up?” Faye asked. “Feed me first and I’ll do whatever you want.”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike let out a small, amused laugh as he put the computer on the table in front of them.</p>
<p class="p1">“Well, Faye,” Jet said before she could ask what the hell was so funny, “I’m glad to hear you say that. And I believe some congratulations are in order as well.”</p>
<p class="p1">“For what?”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike threw an arm over the back of the couch and grinned at Faye. “Didn’t you hear? We’re about to go on our honeymoon, darling.”</p>
<p class="p1">Faye blinked back at him. She knew she new all those words separately, but together? They just didn’t make sense. Eventually, she looked between Spike and Jet and asked, “Did you two get married while I was gone?”</p>
<p class="p1">“Sadly, no,” Spike answered. “He wouldn’t have me.” </p>
<p class="p1">Finally taking pity on her, Jet said, “You remember that couple from a few months ago? Anada and Altan Chen?”</p>
<p class="p1">“Blond man with half an eyebrow,” Spike said. “Ginger with a nasty scar down her cheek. 20 million each.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Oh.” Yeah, that sounded familiar. </p>
<p class="p1">“Well,” Jet continued, “they’re honeymooning at a resort on a private island on Io.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Io?” Faye raised her eyebrows. “Fancy.” </p>
<p class="p1">“Too fancy. They’re paying their way with stolen money.” </p>
<p class="p1">That made sense. There was a pretty steep bounty on their heads after all. But, wait. If they knew exactly where this couple was - and clearly they weren’t trying to hide - why had it taken months to find them in the first place?</p>
<p class="p1">“We’ve been informed we’re not supposed to take them in,” Spike said, answering her unspoken question. “We’re being sent to convince the newly-married daughter of some rich, powerful businessman to go home to daddy and stop using the credit card she swiped from him last time he was home.”</p>
<p class="p1">“So this isn’t a bounty hunt at all. This is psychological manipulation.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Precisely.”</p>
<p class="p1">“And we’re pretending to be married because?”</p>
<p class="p1">“The guy offering the reward apparently wants to stay on good terms with his daughter. He thinks if it’s her idea to come home-”</p>
<p class="p1">“She’ll resent him a hell of a lot less than if we strong-arm her there,” Faye finished for him. That made sense.</p>
<p class="p1">“That’s why the bounty is so high.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Does that mean we’ll be fighting a bunch of other people while we’re there?”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike shook his head. “Apparently everyone who’s tried has failed so far, and the rest dropped out once they figured out what the job would involve. Plus, there’s some hundred million dollar bounty running around on Mars right now. A bunch of other bounty hunters are busy trying to nab him instead.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Which is where I’m going in about five minutes,” Jet said.</p>
<p class="p1">Damn. So much for a good meal.</p>
<p class="p1">“Now get packed,” Spike told Faye. “We’ve already missed most of their first day at the resort, and we don’t know how long they’re planning to stay.”</p>
<p class="p1">How surreal. She’d gotten too used to the inelegant but effective smash-and-grab technique of bringing in bounties as of late. It would be good for her to flex her interpersonal skills again.</p>
<p class="p1">“Give me twenty,” Faye said.</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">Fifteen minutes later, a knock on Faye’s door pulled her out of her inner debate on whether or not she needed a second formal gown as a “just in case” backup. Assuming it was Spike, she yelled loud enough for him to hear her, “You’re early.”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike strode in then, eyes cast upward.</p>
<p class="p1">“Hey!” Faye yelled, though this time out of anger.</p>
<p class="p1">“Hope you’re decent, because I’m coming in.”</p>
<p class="p1">“You’re already in, dumbass.”</p>
<p class="p1">He lowered his eyes to meet hers with a grin. “So I am.”</p>
<p class="p1">“And now you can get out.”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike leaned back against the wall next to the door. His grin slowly disappeared, replaced instead with a small, amused smile. He said, “I’ve come to collect you.”</p>
<p class="p1">“You’re early,” she repeated meaningfully.</p>
<p class="p1">“And you shouldn’t need twenty minutes to pack.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Are you a woman?” At his silence she said, “Then you don’t know how long it takes to pack, do you?”</p>
<p class="p1">His eyes shifted to the closet in front of her and the green dress she had in her hand.</p>
<p class="p1">“I don’t think you’ll need that,” he said. “It’s a resort, not a gala.”</p>
<p class="p1">Just for that, she took the dress of the hanger and slipped it into her bag. She did not miss Spike’s eye roll as she stood up and bit down on an amused smile. There was just something about getting under that man’s skin.</p>
<p class="p1">“Now are you ready?” Spike asked.</p>
<p class="p1">“Yes, yes,” Faye said. “Jesus. Why are you so antsy?”</p>
<p class="p1">He looked at her like she was an idiot. “A beach resort we’re being paid to visit is waiting for us and you’re asking me why I don’t want to spend more time up here.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Oh. Fair enough.”</p>
<p class="p1">Faye handed her overnight bag to Spike as she passed him. He took it mindlessly, but his brain caught up to him as she stepped out into the hall.</p>
<p class="p1">“Hey! I’m not carrying your shit for you.”</p>
<p class="p1">Faye glanced back at him, hot on her heels, trying to hand her bag back to her, and said, “Kind of seems like you are.”</p>
<p class="p1">He gave up with a sigh not even five steps later.</p>
<p class="p1">By the time he’d stowed her bag and started up the ship, Faye was settled in and ready for action.</p>
<p class="p1">“Okay,” she said, kicking her feet up on the dash in front of her. “Let’s go swindle some suckers.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Get a girl back to her dad,” Spike clarified. “And get your feet off my ship.”</p>
<p class="p1">Faye waved a dismissive hand and crossed her ankles.</p>
<p class="p1">“You can clean it next time, then,” Spike said.</p>
<p class="p1">They both knew it wasn’t true, but she let him save a little face. Just this once.</p>
<p class="p1">Once they were in the air, Faye turned her mind towards where they were going. They were tracking down a newlywed couple, so catching them not fucking or being hopelessly wrapped up in each other was probably going to be tricky. Maybe she could try to seduce the husband away from her? That would certainly send her home. Crying, but home.</p>
<p class="p1">She turned to Spike and said, “What do you think about me-”</p>
<p class="p1">“Don’t seduce the man.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Okay, then, what do you suggest?”</p>
<p class="p1">He shot her a look. “I suggest we talk to them. Like people.”</p>
<p class="p1">Faye stared at him.</p>
<p class="p1">“We’ll get a feel for them and figure out the plan of attack after we know them a little better.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Seduction would be faster,” Faye said loftily.</p>
<p class="p1">“And also crueler.”</p>
<p class="p1">Faye looked at him, curious. His face was neutral, but his voice was harder than normal. He was serious about this and wasn’t willing to argue.</p>
<p class="p1">“Do you have a soft spot for lovers, Spike?” Faye asked.</p>
<p class="p1">He was silent for long enough that she thought he wasn’t going to answer, but eventually he said simply, “Yes.”</p>
<p class="p1">Whatever expression she wore when he glanced sidelong at her made him smirk slightly. “Does that bother you?”</p>
<p class="p1">“That you have a soft spot?”</p>
<p class="p1">“No, that I was honest.”</p>
<p class="p1">Well, yes. It did bother her. They didn’t really do the honesty thing very often. Teasing and joking and annoying the shit out of each other, that was safe. True, real conversations only served to give her a better understanding of who Spike was. With that greater understanding, though, meant there was more to lose when he inevitably got himself killed or decided he was done with her and screwed her over.</p>
<p class="p1">Except that wasn’t fair, was it? They were all one wrong step away from death; she couldn’t really hold that against him. As for screwing her over, he hadn’t yet, though he’d certainly had plenty of opportunities. Plus, he was a good person and loyal to a fault. She’d like to think she’d earned that loyalty by now.</p>
<p class="p1">So, she supposed, it was only fair that she trust him now. Just a little, just this once. If he wanted to venture out of their comfort zone, she would follow.</p>
<p class="p1">“A little,” she told him, holding eye contact.</p>
<p class="p1">Spike’s smirk shifted into something smaller and more genuine. Just a hint of a smile played at the edges of his lips before he opened them to say, “Huh.”</p>
<p class="p1">She didn’t know what that meant or what he was thinking, but she didn’t care. It was enough vulnerability for one day. She was done with it.</p>
<p class="p1">“So,” she said, tearing her eyes away from Spike and brightening her voice, “Do you think we need to prepare?”</p>
<p class="p1">“Prepare?” Spike asked, clearly game to take her lead and lighten the mood in the cockpit.</p>
<p class="p1">“You know, a story.”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike huffed out a small laugh. “I think we’ll be fine.”</p>
<p class="p1">“But we won’t be. We’re supposed to know things about each other. The other couples are going to expect that of us.”</p>
<p class="p1">“We know things about each other. What are you talking about?”</p>
<p class="p1">“No we don’t. Not married things.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Faye.” Spike gave her a pointed look. “We’re going to be fine.”</p>
<p class="p1">“My favorite color is green,” Faye said, ignoring Spike, “I love filet mignon, and if I could have any job in the world, I’d work for the United Planetary Society. That’s what you should tell people if anyone asks what I do.” She paused, then added, “Say I do something important.”</p>
<p class="p1">Spike glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, an amused smile curling at the edges of his lips. He said, “Your favorite color is red, not green. Filet mignon I buy, but you absolutely do not want to work for the United Planetary Society.”</p>
<p class="p1">“How do you know what I want to do?”</p>
<p class="p1">“Faye, your ideal job would be no job at all.”</p>
<p class="p1">Oh. True.</p>
<p class="p1">“Well, you can’t tell people that,” Faye said.</p>
<p class="p1">“UPS it is.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Now you.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Me?”</p>
<p class="p1">“What do I need to know about you?” Faye asked, impatient. They were getting closer to the resort by the moment and he was playing games with her. He knew what she’d meant.</p>
<p class="p1">“Oh,” he said. He wasn’t even trying to hide his amusement now.</p>
<p class="p1">Faye smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand, but that just made him laugh.</p>
<p class="p1">“What backstory do you want me to have?” Spike asked.</p>
<p class="p1">“What?”</p>
<p class="p1">“Well, you got a made-up history. I’m assuming you want mine to be made up, too?”</p>
<p class="p1">“Sure. I don’t care. Lie to me or don’t.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Faye,” he said slowly, like he was talking to a child or a very dumb person, “I don’t know if you know this, but you’re a con woman.”</p>
<p class="p1">Faye rolled her eyes.</p>
<p class="p1">“You probably know more things about me than I realize. You definitely know more than anyone at this place will ever ask you about.” He paused. “But if someone does ask something you don’t know the answer to, I give you permission to lie to them. I’ll keep up.”</p>
<p class="p1">Her mind instantly filled with so many thoughts of how she could fuck with him behind his back <em>with his permission</em> that it was almost too much. Somehow she persevered, and her thoughts kept her company until they landed on Io.</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This took forever because I had to re-write almost everything about it. The first draft was really unsatisfying to me. I hope it turned out well. Happy New Year everyone!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. over and over announcing your place</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">The heat hit every exposed part of Faye the second she opened the ship’s door and she shivered slightly at the drastic temperature change from inside the Swordfish II. Though it was night, it felt like any mid-day summer Faye remembered on Earth. Faye eyed the setting sun, barely visible above the edge of the horizon, and wondered how much of a hell swamp this place would be tomorrow. She took off her ever-present red sweater, balled it up, and tossed it back into her vacated seat. As she shut the door, Spike hopped down and came around the front of the ship to join her. She stared at him and pointedly crossed her arms over her chest when he held out her bag for her to, presumably, take.</p><p class="p1">“Worth a shot,” Spike said. He hoisted her bag over his shoulder and nodded towards the front entrance. “Let’s get going.”</p><p class="p1">The girl at the reception desk didn’t look old enough to have a job at all, let alone run reception alone. Ginger, as her name tag gave away, smiled brightly at them as they approached to check in.</p><p class="p1">“You must be Mr. And Mrs. Jones.”</p><p class="p1">“That’d be us,” Spike said, smoothly going with the lie.</p><p class="p1">“Perfect! Let me just get you all set up here,” she said, typing away at her computer. She glanced up at Spike and said, “You know, all our public areas are temperature-controlled at 29 degrees. Please take off your jacket! Roll up your sleeves. Relax.”</p><p class="p1">Spike shrugged out of his jacket, flipped it up to rest on his shoulder, and obediently began rolling up his left shirtsleeve. “Do you get a lot of overdressed people here?”</p><p class="p1">“I’m sorry?”</p><p class="p1">“You had that speech ready and waiting.” He started in on his right sleeve. “Do you have to talk about the temperature a lot?”</p><p class="p1">“Like you wouldn’t believe! I swear, some men just do <em>not </em>want to expose any part of their bodies at all.” Ginger rolled her eyes, dropping the professional act and showing her age. “It’s like, okay, why would you pick a beach resort to come to if you didn’t want to get beach-y, you know?”</p><p class="p1">“Why indeed?” Spike asked politely. He flashed Faye a knowing look that had her biting down an amused smile.</p><p class="p1">“I’ve had three people faint on me since I started working here,” Ginger continued on. She wasn’t even typing anymore. Ginger looked over at Faye and said, “Men, right?”</p><p class="p1">“Tell me about it,” Faye said. She rolled her eyes, deliberately mimicking Ginger’s body language. This girl might be useful for information at some point. Faye wanted her to like them.</p><p class="p1">Ginger giggled and resumed typing. She glanced up at Spike, then back at Faye. “You seem like you have a good one, though. He didn’t fight me at all on the temperature thing.”</p><p class="p1">“He has his moments,” Faye said, sending him teasing smirk.</p><p class="p1">Spike just shrugged good-naturedly.</p><p class="p1">“One sec,” Ginger said. “I have to grab some keys from the back room, but I’ll be back before you know it.”</p><p class="p1">“No problem!” Faye called after her, making sure to smile so her voice sounded friendly. Once Ginger was out of sight, Faye sighed and turned around to survey the lobby. It was a modest size with, of course, a tropical theme. Couches with pineapple and banana print upholstery formed two vague squares next to each other a few meters from where Faye and Spike were standing. Short, white wicker tables sat in the middle of each square. Peeling lounge chairs sat in each corner. Along the wall opposite the front entrance, large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the beach outside. The ocean looked inky black now that the sun had finally set and the moon hadn’t quite risen high enough to illuminate the water yet. On either side of the wall of windows, a hallway stretched to depths unknown from her current position. She assumed that was where the rooms were tucked away. Next to the front desk was a small convenience store with a kitschy sign above the door that read, “4 all the things you 4got to pack,” in English.</p><p class="p1">“Why aren’t you ever that nice to me?” Spike asked, voice colored in amusement.</p><p class="p1">Though it was probably rhetorical, Faye answered, “Because I’m not trying to use you, stupid.” Her mind was too preoccupied to banter. Something didn’t feel right here.</p><p class="p1">“What is it?” Spike asked.</p><p class="p1">“This all feels,” Faye said slowly, “weird, right?” There were a few weird things, but the most obvious one was that they hadn’t seen or heard any guests since they’d arrived. It wasn’t even late yet. People should still be milling around, right?</p><p class="p1">“Absolutely.”</p><p class="p1">Faye turned to look at him properly then. He was as relaxed as ever, casually leaning back against the front desk. She didn’t ask him why he was so calm about all this because she already knew what his answer would be: can’t do anything about nothing. They’d just have to wait for something to happen before they could deal with it. It happened to be Faye’s least favorite part of the job. It made her itchy. She wanted to <em>go</em> and <em>do</em> and be done with everything so she could get paid and relax in a bath quicker.</p><p class="p1">Oh. A bath sounded nice. It would be great to soak in a tub she didn’t have to clean herself. Was there a greater joy? Maybe this whole thing wouldn’t be so bad after all. As she let mind drift to bath-related plans for later, she almost missed the couple walking into the lobby.</p><p class="p1">It took her half a second to recognize the man as the dumpy little security guard from hospital. The man she’d essentially attacked while sneaking Spike out of a room that wasn’t his. Of all the ways this gig could have gone south, Faye hadn’t expected <em>random little man who could blow her cover just happens to be lurking nearby</em> to be the thing that did them in.</p><p class="p1">“Shit,” Faye muttered and did the first thing she could think of: grabbed Spike by the front of his shirt and yanked him closer to her. He was taller than her, so his torso would hide her fairly distinctive outfit, which she would bet money on him remembering since it was what started her whole thing with Security Man.</p><p class="p1">Spike just barely stumbled on their bags, which were resting on the floor between them, before she manhandled him into being her unwilling shield.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, what the hell, Faye?”</p><p class="p1">“Sorry,” she whispered up at him. While she was looking up, she noticed his hair, as big and green as ever. That was pretty distinctive, too. She immediately reached up on her toes and flattened as much as she could cover with her hands.</p><p class="p1">Spike ducked his head slightly to give her easier access - which was nice of him, Faye thought distantly - shoved his hands in his pockets, and looked down at her with his eyebrows raised and a slight quirk to his mouth.</p><p class="p1">“Not that I’m complaining-” Spike started.</p><p class="p1">Faye cut him off with, “Oh, shut up.” She watched the security guard out of the corner of her eye and rotated Spike slightly right as the guard made his way through the room. She almost jumped right over the front desk when a warm hand splayed out over her back, up between her shoulder blades. The edge of his pinky brushed the top of her back left bare by her crop top. It brought him almost flush with her body. They weren’t quite touching - aside from her hands in his hair and his hand on her back - but it would probably be a struggle to wedge a pamphlet between their chests.</p><p class="p1">“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.</p><p class="p1">“Playing along?” Spike’s voice rose like it was a question. He was playing along, but he clearly had no idea what it was for.</p><p class="p1">Glancing back at the couple, she murmured, “The security guard I choked out at the hospital is right over there.”</p><p class="p1">The security guard in question was stopped by his wife in the middle of the wall of windows. His wife pointed out at the ocean and said, “Oh, look!”</p><p class="p1">“I see,” the security guard said simply with a nod.</p><p class="p1">A love story for the ages, apparently. Why did they have to stop and gawk right now? Faye had long ago accepted that she had rotten luck, but for some reason she could truly never get used to it. Somehow it still managed to surprise her and make her want to throw a fit like a six year old. She only just managed to not stomp her foot in irritation.</p><p class="p1">Spike’s eyebrows drew together. “That guy from a few months ago?”</p><p class="p1">She felt his breath ghost across her cheek and jaw. For a wild moment, it made her want to close the gap between them. Press her body fully to his. Drag his mouth down just a little bit more until it met her own. </p><p class="p1">Shit. It had been so long since she’d gotten laid.</p><p class="p1">It wasn’t the first time she’d thought about kissing him and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but it was certainly the most inopportune. She needed her wits about her to keep their bodies positioned so that she could avoid yet another run-in with a talentless cop with a chip on his shoulder. She’d work on scratching that particular, pesky itch some other time, though. Right now she needed to focus.</p><p class="p1">Faye checked to make sure the guard and his lady friend were still preoccupied, then nodded to confirm Spike’s earlier question.</p><p class="p1">“Oh,” he said.</p><p class="p1">“And I’m positive he’ll remember what I was wearing-”</p><p class="p1">Spike smirked, clearly gearing up to deflate her ego a little, but she pushed on before he could get a word in edgewise.</p><p class="p1">“-so I just need to avoid him until I can change. I don’t want to have to drop him a third time. It would just be sad at this point.”</p><p class="p1">Spike hummed in agreement, then said, “You should work on your form.”</p><p class="p1">It took her a second for her brain to catch up. He’d just been agreeing with her, and then he was insulting her?</p><p class="p1">“Excuse you. I get by just fine.”</p><p class="p1">“Just fine,” Spike parroted. “Could be better though.”</p><p class="p1">“I want to kick your ass so bad right now.”</p><p class="p1">“I mean, you could try.”</p><p class="p1">Smug bastard. She was seconds away from proving him wrong when the couple she’d been avoiding finally disappeared down the hallway and out of her sight. Once they were in the clear, Faye shoved at Spike’s shoulders and said, “Get off of me.”</p><p class="p1">He went easily, hands raised. Clearly amused, he said, “You know, you’re going to have to get better about that.”</p><p class="p1">She wasn’t quite sure if <em>that</em> meant <em>him touching her </em>or <em>not bodily shoving him away at every opportunity</em>, but she wasn’t sure it mattered. They were both valid. And she was pissed at him for basically telling her she sucked at fighting even though she was the one who got them all out of that hospital. A little gratitude wouldn’t have hurt, but no. He had to go and be an asshole. See if she ever saved him again.</p><p class="p1">She turned back to the front desk to wait quietly for Ginger to get back. </p><p class="p1">“Hold my hand, Faye,” Spike teased as he settled back into his original spot, pre-manhandling. “Let’s practice touching me like you don’t hate me.” He reached a hand out to her that she swatted away.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah,” Spike said, dropping his hand. “Just like that. I can feel the love radiating off you.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh, I can turn it on when I need to,” Faye said. She turned to face him with a flirty smirk that got her free drinks, oh, eighty percent of the time. “I just don’t need to when there’s no one around.”</p><p class="p1">Spike looked around, then pointed at himself as if to say, <em>I’m around</em>.</p><p class="p1">“Please. You couldn’t handle me.” </p><p class="p1">Ginger popped back out of the back room with a dramatic sigh and said, “I’m so sorry that took so long! The keys were so mixed up that yours was in a back corner?” Ginger’s voice rose towards the end of her last sentence like she wasn’t sure what had just happened.</p><p class="p1">Faye noticed quite a bit of dust on the sleeve of Ginger’s black work uniform and just above her right hip. Did she dive into the corner to get the damn thing?</p><p class="p1">“It was no problem at all,” Spike said kindly.</p><p class="p1">“You both are so nice,” Ginger said. “I’m going to make sure you get extra mints on your pillows in the morning.”</p><p class="p1">Faye had no idea what to do with that, so she ignored it. Instead she said, “Hey, Ginger. Do you think I could pop into that little store over there and grab a few things? I didn’t quite pack everything I needed because <em>someone </em>insisted this be a surprise and I didn’t plan for a beach.” She shot Ginger a good-natured eye roll.</p><p class="p1">“What can I say? I’m a romantic.”</p><p class="p1">“Aw, that’s sweet!” Ginger cooed. “What’s the occasions?”</p><p class="p1">Faye slipped away to duck into the convenience area while Spike rambled on about how they usually hike mountains and camp for days on end. Faye snorted. Like she would be caught dead roughing it in a tent. Spike would have to kill her first, and even then she’d come back to haunt him as punishment for making her sleep on the ground.</p><p class="p1">She went straight to the clothing that lined the back wall. There were hoodies with the resort name plastered garishly across the chest, shorts, swimsuits of various coverage, and wraps to go over swimsuits. Perfect.</p><p class="p1">She opted for a forest green wrap with white palm trees. They were all hideous designs, but that was the least offensive of the choices. She just hoped this job would be done quickly and she could forget she ever had to put that polyester blend monstrosity on her body. For now, though, she wound the wrap around her body, covering up her gold shorts and top, and secured the ends in a knot behind her neck.</p><p class="p1">After she was covered to her satisfaction, she raided the snacks. She grabbed one of everything without even looking at the label. It didn’t matter what it was. If it was gross, she’d make Spike eat it or bring it back to Ed. She also swiped a new razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a baseball cap on her way back out.</p><p class="p1">“Leave some for the rest of the people, Faye,” Spike told her as she rejoined him at the front desk.</p><p class="p1">“You can put this on our tab, right?” Faye asked Ginger.</p><p class="p1">“Absolutely!” Ginger chirped.</p><p class="p1">Though Faye was verbally ignoring Spike, she turned to him and shoved the cap on his head. He immediately closed his eyes against the onslaught of displaced hair suddenly migrating south.</p><p class="p1">“Thanks,” he drawled. He lifted the cap to brush his bangs back, then secured them in place with the cap again. He looked fucking ridiculous and Faye openly laughed at him.</p><p class="p1">“Ready to see your room?” Ginger asked.</p><p class="p1">Faye made quick work of shoving her snacks into her bag, then shoving it at Spike to carry again. He took it with only one displeased look that went unnoticed by Ginger.</p><p class="p1">Ginger led them down the far hallway and to the left, which was another long hallway with doors on either side. She stopped at a door about three quarters down, inserted the key, and opened door 206 with a bright, “Ta da!”</p><p class="p1">Her enthusiasm was an overstatement. The room was dark. The paint was peeling. The comforter on the bed looked faded, and the hardwood floors were covered in scratches of various depths. And those were only the big, glaring issues Faye clocked in the two seconds she’d had to glance around the room from outside in the hallway. Who knew what else she’d find once inside.</p><p class="p1">“I know it’s not much,” Ginger said, motioning for them to enter. She plopped the key down in Spike’s hand as he passed her. “Sorry, with the last-minute booking, you got one of the last rooms here to be renovated. But the good news is that your husband here got a really good deal for it.” She winked at Faye.</p><p class="p1">“I’m so happy to hear my husband bargain hunted our honeymoon,” Faye said. Oops, she sounded to annoyed. That wasn’t in character. She added a laugh to cover up the fact that she was very much not kidding.</p><p class="p1">Ginger looked slightly uneasy, like she was ready for Faye to start complaining or make a scene, so Faye said, “Thank you so much, Ginger! It’s perfect, really. And we appreciate all your help tonight.”</p><p class="p1">Ginger relaxed again. Success.</p><p class="p1">“Of course,” Ginger said. “Just let me know if you need anything else. I think you just missed dinner, but meals are at eight, noon, and six every day. We do group activities at three. There’s a pamphlet on the dresser over there. And, uh, yeah. That’s about it.”</p><p class="p1">“This is great,” Spike said. “Thank you.”</p><p class="p1">Ginger shut the door with a little wave on her way out, and then they were alone.</p><p class="p1">“This place is a dump,” Faye said the second the door stopped moving. She face-planted into the stiff, gross sheets on top of the queen sized bed. Honestly, they couldn’t even spring for a king?</p><p class="p1">“You’d think someone burning through daddy’s money would pick somewhere a little nicer,” Spike said.</p><p class="p1">Faye flopped onto her back and watched Spike poke around the room. “If I was spending someone else’s money, I’d go five stars all the way.”</p><p class="p1">Spike hummed in agreement, focused on the dresser drawers in front of him. He opened each one, pulled them out of their slots, flipped them over, then returned them to their proper places. Then, he gently leaned the dresser away from the wall and peeked behind it.</p><p class="p1">“Okay, what are you doing?” she asked once the dresser was upright again.</p><p class="p1">Spike moved to the one of the bedside tables and removed its only drawer in the same fashion.</p><p class="p1">“Checking for bugs,” Spike said.</p><p class="p1">Faye paused. “Bed bugs or listening devices? Because it could go either way here.”</p><p class="p1">“Spyware.”</p><p class="p1">“You really think someone bugged this place?”</p><p class="p1">“Not really. It’s just a habit. I do it every new place I go.”</p><p class="p1">“Something you picked up while in the Syndicate?”</p><p class="p1">Spike nodded. He motioned for her to get up, then flipped the mattress up. He immediately let it fall back down, the edges of him mouth tightening ever so slightly. He was good at concealing his emotions when he wanted to, but Faye was better at reading him.</p><p class="p1">“What did you find?” Faye asked, not entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer. He clearly wasn’t happy about whatever he uncovered.</p><p class="p1">The, “You don’t want to know,” Spike answered with gave her definitive proof. “No bedbugs, though.”</p><p class="p1">“Gross. I’m going to go shower.”</p><p class="p1">Spike continued his search without complaint, so she took that as tacit compliance and slipped into the small bathroom with her bag in tow.</p><p class="p1">The water pressure was shit, but the temperature was decent. After about an hour, she’d gone through her nightly routine and had sufficiently relaxed enough that even the thought of sleeping on that horror show of a bed out there wasn’t enough to fully dissuade her from sleep. What did dissuade her, however, was her current partner sleeping in her bed when she finally came out of the bathroom.</p><p class="p1">“Hey,” she snapped. “Out. This is mine.”</p><p class="p1">Spike didn’t move, nor did he register he’d heard her. He was splayed out on the far side of the bed, sound asleep. He hadn’t changed or even bothered to get under the covers. He didn’t deserve the bed. He clearly couldn’t appreciate it like Faye would.</p><p class="p1">“You can take the floor.” She shook the comforter, trying to roll him off the mattress.</p><p class="p1">Spike groaned, finally rejoining the land of the awake.</p><p class="p1">“Faye,” Spike mumbled. “Cut it out.”</p><p class="p1">“Get out of bed. I’m not sharing with you.”</p><p class="p1">Spike slit one eye open to glare at her. “Then you can take the floor. I hear it’s very nice this time of year.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re not funny, you know.”</p><p class="p1">“I’m also not moving.”</p><p class="p1">As if to prove a point, he turned his back on her and curled up on his side.</p><p class="p1">So annoying.</p><p class="p1">She weighed her options: continue fighting for the sole spot on the bed, take the floor, or share. Option one was out. She was too exhausted and annoyed to keep fighting, and Spike was clearly already asleep again. God, she wished that were here. Option two was equally out. There was no way she was going to take the floor. Beauty rest came on soft surfaces only. Plus, she didn’t trust things not to crawl on her. Which left option three.</p><p class="p1">“Don’t even think about trying anything funny,” she said as she slipped under the comforter, taking care to keep as much space between her and Spike as physically possible.</p><p class="p1">Spike’s nonsensical mumble was the last thing she heard before she drifted off for the night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oooh. Is that a little plot I see on the horizon? </p><p>Thank you everyone for your comments! I read them all (at work while I should be working and am in fact reading personal emails instead) and they make me smile every time. You all are so wonderful to a brand new writer here and I really appreciate how welcoming you've been. Much love. Until next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>